Muschamp retains 3, no OC announced
The day after the Urban Meyer Era ended with a 37-24 victory against Penn State in the Outback Bowl, new Florida football coach Will Muschamp announced he would be retaining three members of Meyer’s staff and also had hired coaches for receivers and defensive backs.
The Will Muschamp Era has officially started. On his first day as Florida’s new head football coach, Muschamp quickly began to move the program forward.
Muschamp announced the hiring of assistant coaches Aubrey Hill, a former Gators receiver, and Travaris Robinson on Sunday. He also announced that D.J. Durkin, Brian White and Stan Drayton will be retained from Urban Meyer’s coaching staff.
Durkin is the linebackers/special teams coordinator, White will coach tight ends, and Drayton is running backs coach/recruiting coordinator.
Hill returns to UF as the new receivers coach and Robinson, a former Auburn standout who stated his coaching career as a graduate assistant under Muschamp during Muschamp’s stint as Auburn’s defensive coordinator in 2006-07, is the Gators’ new defensive backs coach.
There was no word yet on the offensive coordinator, although Charlie Weis is widely believed to be the choice and may be announced Monday.
“I thought it was important to have some continuity in the staff – D.J., Stan and Brian bring that to the table,” Muschamp said. “They are also solid recruiters. Aubrey is obviously a Gator, and it’s always a plus when you have someone coach at their alma mater. He understands the passion and the expectations here, and I know he is excited to return to Gainesville.
“Travaris worked on our staff and Auburn and is a winner. He has competed at the highest level in this sport and is a good young coach with strong ties to the South Florida area, which will benefit us in recruiting.’’
Two other members of Meyer’s final staff – offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Steve Addazio and defensive line coach Dan McCarney – have left to take over their own programs. Addazio is Temple’s new coach and McCarney recently was named head coach at North Texas.
Muschamp was introduced as Florida’s new coach on Dec. 14. He attended a few practices and has worked behind the scenes to hire a coaching staff as Meyer prepared the team for his final game, Saturday’s 37-24 win over Penn State here in the Outback Bowl. Muschamp watched the game from a private suite with Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley.
Hill, 38, returns to UF after spending the past three years as receivers coach at Miami. Hill played for the Gators from 1991-94, helping Florida win three SEC Championships as a player. He later served as a graduate assistant on Steve Spurrier’s staff from 1996-98. Hill spent three seasons as receivers coach at Pittsburgh. During his playing days at UF, Hill caught 86 passes, including 18 touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Robinson rejoins Muschamp after spending last season at Texas Tech. A Miami native who has strong recruiting ties to the area, Robinson started his coaching career in 2006 after playing two seasons in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Bucs.
A four-time letterwinner as a player at Auburn, Robinson, 29, earned AP All-SEC first-team honors as a senior with 92 tackles, four interceptions and three pass break-ups.
Following a two-year stint under Muschamp at Auburn, Robinson served as an assistant coach at Western Kentucky in 2008 and Southern Miss in 2009 before joining Tommy Tuberville’s inaugural staff at Texas Tech this season.
“This is a good start to our coaching staff and I hope to have some additional announcements this week,’’ Muschamp said.
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UAA RELEASE:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – University of Florida head football coach Will Muschamp announced several members of his coaching staff on Sunday, retaining three members of this past season’s coaching staff, including Stan Drayton as running backs coach and recruiting coordinator, D.J. Durkin as linebackers coach/special teams coordinator and Brian White as tight ends coach.
Joining this group will be wide receivers coach Aubrey Hill and defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson. Hill, a Gator wide receiver from 1991-94 and graduate assistant from 1996-98, returns to his alma mater to coach the position he played while helping UF to three SEC Championships. Robinson, a former Auburn standout and an NFL defensive back from 2003-04, comes to the Gators from Texas Tech, where he served as secondary coach in 2010.
“I thought it was important to have some continuity in the staff – D.J., Stan and Brian bring that to the table,” Muschamp said. “They are also solid recruiters. Aubrey is obviously a Gator, and it’s always a plus when you have someone coach at their alma mater. He understands the passion and the expectations here, and I know he is excited to return to Gainesville. Travaris worked on our staff at Auburn and is a winner. He has competed at the highest level in this sport and is a good young coach with strong ties to the South Florida area, which will benefit us in recruiting.
“This is a good start to our coaching staff and I hope to have some additional announcements this week.”
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Aubrey Hill Wide Receivers Coach
Aubrey Hill, a four-year letterman from 1991-94 who also served as a graduate assistant coach from 1996-98, helped the Gators to three SEC championships as a player and their first national championship in his first season as a graduate assistant.
Hill comes to Florida following a three-year stint at the University of Miami (Fla.) as wide receivers coach. This season, Hill helped UM wide receiver Leonard Hankerson to one of the best seasons in program history as Hankerson set school records with 13 touchdown catches and 1,156 receiving yards.
Prior to Miami, Hill spent three seasons at the University of Pittsburgh, highlighted by first-team All-Big East performances from Greg Lee (2005) and Derek Kinder (2006) and a freshman All-American season from Oderick Turner (2006).
The Miami native spent the 2004 season at Elon following a five-year run at Duke from 1999-2003 in his first full-time coaching position. While with the Blue Devils, Hill helped Scottie Montgomery put together one of the best receiving careers in Duke history with 171 career receptions (second in school history) and 2,379 yards (third in school history).While with the Blue Devils, Hill also served a pair of NFL coaching internships, working with wide receivers and special teams for the Washington Redskins (summer 2001) and Miami Dolphins (summer 2002).
As a player at Florida, Hill helped the Gators to a four-year record of
43- 10-1 (.806) and three SEC championships. During his career, he tallied 86 receptions and 18 touchdowns, averaging a touchdown every
4. 78 receptions, and was a team captain as a senior in 1994.
Hill’s three seasons as a graduate assistant for the Gators were highlighted by UF’s 1996 national championship, as Florida put together a 12-1 record and defeated Florida State, 52-20, in the Sugar Bowl.
Hill holds a bachelor’s degree in exercise and sport science and a master’s degree in leisure and sport management. He and his wife, Shanae, have one daughter, Destini.
Coaching Experience
1996- 98 – Florida – Graduate Assistant
1999- 2003 – Duke – Wide Receivers 2004 – Elon – Wide Receivers
2005- 07 – Pittsburgh – Wide Receivers
2008- 10 – Miami (Fla.) – Wide Receivers
Personal Information BEducation: 1996 – Bachelor’s Degree from Florida; 1999 – Master’s Degree from Florida Family: Wife – Shanae; Daughter – Destini
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Travaris Robinson Defensive Backs Coach
Miami native and former Auburn standout Travaris Robinson joins the Gators as defensive backs coach. Following a two-year NFL playing career with the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Robinson returned to Auburn to start his coaching career under Will Muschamp, the Tigers’ defensive coordinator at the time, from 2006-07.
Robinson helped Texas Tech to an appearance in the TicketCity Bowl in
2010, following a 7-5 regular season. In 2009, Robinson’s Southern Miss squad finished in the top four in Conference USA in pass efficiency defense (130.7), interceptions (12) and yards per pass attempt (7.06). Robinson served his first season as a full-time assistant coach with Western Kentucky in 2008.
During his 2006 season as a staff assistant at Auburn, the Tigers posted a 11-2 record and won the Cotton Bowl while reaching a national ranking as high as No. 2. After earning his degree, he remained with Auburn for 2007 as a graduate assistant, assisting with all aspects of the defense, he was responsible for opponent scouting, organizing scout teams for the defense and kicking game, video breakdown and computer data entry, the defensive scouting report and all aspects of on-campus recruiting. The Tigers finished 9-4 and won the Chick-Fil-A Bowl that season.
A four-time letterwinner at Auburn from 1999-2002, Robinson played in 48 career games and helped the team win or share three straight SEC Western Division crowns. Auburn went 30-19 (.612) overall during Robinson’s career and finished in the top 20 following his senior season. He earned AP first-team All-SEC honors as a senior, tallying 92 total tackles, four interceptions and three pass breakups.
Robinson was a four-year letterwinner at Coral Park Senior High School, where he earned all-state honors as a defensive back and wide receiver.
Coaching Experience
2006- 07 – Auburn – Staff Assistant (2006); Graduate Assistant (2007) 2008 – Western Kentucky – Assistant Coach 2009 – Southern Miss – Assistant Coach 2010 – Texas Tech – Secondary
Personal Information Birthdate: September 1, 1981 Hometown: Miami, Fla. Education: 2007 – Bachelor’s Degree from Auburn Family: Has a daughter, Jordyn